New mom, Anna Bretan of Berkeley, California, won the Oakland marathon with a time of 2:57:33. She was welcomed at the finish line by her husband, her two sons, and her 6 week old daughter. Yes…she completed a marathon, only 6 weeks after delivery.

According to SFGate, she trained throughout her pregnancy, and ran a short 5 mile run on the same day her baby was born. It was not clear from the article if that run was before or after delivery.

I stress rest and nutrition with my new mothers. I am wondering how this mother did it. And is she nursing?

This I can identify with. As a new mom, we are always looking for those quiet moments when we can actually hear ourselves think. However, in my early weeks..a few quiet minutes in the shower was a personal victory.

Many new moms are faced with the pressure of breastfeeding, returning to work and childcare woes in those first early weeks. I remember the stress of having to return to work when our first child was only 6 weeks old. I was just figuring out how to work the breast pump, when that first day back at arrived all too quickly.

When our third child was born, I certainly had figured out how to use the breast pump, but was still cherishing baby time, and juggling toddlers when it was time to return to work.

I am always stressing fresh air, nutrition and daily walks to my new moms. I know how important it is to recovery, and to personal well being to get outside and move.

I live the gym for the same reason, I get to be all alone, I put in my earbuds and run! No sippy cups, no “but mommy”, just me and my pace.

CH-proud mama

Congratulations to her!! She has special mightiness! This just shows that women can do anything.

http://www.numbmum.com/ Betsy Shaw

Wow! I have nothing to say other than it amazes me how different women’s bodies, and minds,react and adapt to pregnancy. I struggle with irrational feelings of inadequacy when I hear stories like this because I, an elite athlete before kids, was essentially “handicapped” by pregnancy.

Another Betsy

Now that’s just rubbing it in. But seriously…that’s a stud thing to go and rip off 5 miles while pregnant. Let alone win a marathon at the time most of us are just getting permission from our doctors to begin a “light workout”.

http://nycrunningmama.com Michele @ nycrunningmama

An amazing story!! I ran 5 miles the day before my son was born (at a 9:30 pace) and was back on the treadmill 5 days after. I nursed my son and was back up to running double digit miles within the first few weeks, so I think it is definitely feasible that she is nursing and was able to run such an incredible time so soon after she gave birth! Love these stories of strong mamas!!

JMH

Wow… and here I was feeling all proud to have lost all my baby weight only a few months after delivery. If she got the okay from her doctor and the baby is healthy, then good for her!

Jennifer

I really think this report is quite judgmental about her training and whether or not she is nursing. For one, we don’t know if she is nursing or not, but it is implied that either she is not breastfeeding or that she will complicate it or cause supply issues by training hard. Secondly, if she is not nursing, she is entitled to do that without judgement. Breastfeeding or pumping is mentioned 5 times in this short article which is about racing and being a new mother.

Anna

It wasn’t until my third child that I realized moms should not feel guilty about taking a small piece of time for themselves each day. Whether it is to take a nap, go for a walk, or train for a marathon! After I get my older kids off to school I hand the baby off to my husband (after a good nursing) and go for a run. I come back refreshed and energized and better able to handle all the stresses of being a mom. For the rest of the day my baby is strapped to me in the moby wrap! Plus my husband gets that crucial alone time with his daughter before he is off for work. As a postpartum RN, I knew to be careful and start off easy. I was lucky that my labor and pregnancy was healthy and that I truly felt recovered a few days after delivery, perhaps it was the running? I probably was just super lucky. Every pregnancy and labor is different, listening to your body is key! And moms, if something makes it easier to do our job, why shouldn’t we do it?? I think anyone who signs up to be a mom is pretty amazing. PS. I’m Anna Bretan, and I would go on babycenter’s website frequently while pregnant

http://www.wellbabyproducts.com/ Dr. Lisa Dana

Anna, it was a pleasure meeting you today on abc 7Live. You truly are a miracle marathon mom! Best of luck to you and your family

Cate Walker

I ran a 5k 8 weeks after my son was born. I did not win or even come close but it did give me something to work toward otherwise it would have been really easy to not want to do any sort of physical activity after my son was born!

Hugs4Jack

Kudos to this mom. I also continued to run throughout my pregnancy ( with my Dr’s blessing), I was running again around 4 weeks post c-section and it helped tremendously to get e back in shape.

Lisa

Props to her! That is just amazing. I was proud of my 10 minute bike ride at six weeks postpartum.

Darcy’s mama

I ran the Seattle half when I was 5.5 months pregnant.
Not my best time of course, but hey, I finished before lots of other people!
I also nursed my son for 15 months.
: )

ida

Amazing! Wished I could have ran myself during pregnancy. My baby’s 4 weeks old and still find myself struggling to get myself together. Ill be running the 10kone in the Airforce Marathon, I hope this would help me get motivate to start running. Congrats again!

ida

@Darcy’s mama – its fun isnt it..i walked the 5k10kone last year while i was 5 months pregnant as well…longest walk ever but a great personal achievement!

Jennifer

Wow, she is my role model and inspiration!

Jenny Atkinson

Wow! I know I have a bit of an over-protective doctor, but there’s no way he’d let me do this 6 weeks after having a baby. At 7.5 months pregnant, I’m not even allowed to get my heart rate above 140, so there’s no way I’d be able to train for this. I’m looking forward to running & working out like I did pre-pregnancy, but I don’t expect to even start that until around the 6-week mark!

Ruthie

Well said, Jennifer.

kel

Wow- 6 weeks after I gave birth, I was still laying around with my baby girl in my bathrobe! It was a chore to even go to the grocery store! This very impressive! Congrats to her!

Cari

Impressive! I admit I’m a bit jealous that she had the will to do this, but I don’t think it’s fair for the author to showcase this new mum in a negative light, she did it and we didn’t so there. lol

Jeri

That is awesome. I hope to run a marathon one day. I’m 6 months pregnant now and just ran a 5k 2 days ago. I push my 15 month old in the stroller during all my races. I have a 10k in 2 weeks. I started running again 4 weeks after I had my first child. I breastfeed and never had any supply problems!

Christina Garrett

I think I agree that this post is a bit judgemental….as a mom who didn’t BF and am not ashamed of it (kids weren’t cooperating/had twins, and its hell to put two babies on both boobs at the same time), I can understand her plight. I also run and my weekly runs are like stabilizing my sanity for another week. Its HARD being a mom, and regardless of popular opinion, ppl still judge you for doing whats best for yourself, as though you’re some kind of martyr for the cause. Who’s to say that she lost anything at all bc she was training, esp if she wakes early in the morning, and most of all, has a supportive husband?? Husbands are just as capable as moms when it comes to taking care of a baby…maybe not always as patient, but just as capable and their capability won’t grow if they do not get the chance. So more power to her for putting herself in the running race of her family and not considering it wrong to take time out to cherish her dreams.

RHMama

I was amazed last year when she won. Training 80 miles a week, two little boys and a full time job as an L&D nurse. This year blew me away as well. If you stop doing what you love and what you are great at then what is the point. You can tell this is not ego related, but just a true love for running. Have you seen this woman run? Incredible form and just beautiful to watch because she is so graceful. I’m sure we will be seeing her name a lot in the future in the world of running. Great job mama!

http://www.lindsayblogs.com Lindsay

I say, GO MOM! I would love to be so fit that I could run a MILE four years post-pregnancy – yet this mom managed 26.2!! She’s worked hard to train and not lose her identity to motherhood and I say KUDOS TO HER!

http://wazocafegallery.blogspot.com Becky

The bottom line, whether you condemn or condone what Bretan accomplished, is that we should not be comparing ourselves to other women, and certainly not an elite athlete. We should applaud what she did and then do what works for us, whether that includes running up to the day you deliver your baby, or working back up to “daily walks” several weeks after.

On the one hand, I understand why Dr. Dana would not want the vast majority of new moms even attempting a marathon 6 weeks post-partum (let alone winning it), but on the other hand, I find this article’s obvious breastfeeding bias hypocritical. Two interruptions in the flow of the article for links to other posts about breastfeeding? I mean, c’mon. Is that what this is about? Whether or not Bretan is nursing? Women should not feel pressured to accomplish anything close to what Bretan is capable of, post-partum, just as they should not be pressured into breastfeeding or made to feel guilty if they can’t or choose to stop before the magical one-year mark. Do what works for you in order to be a good – and happy – mama!

Nikki

I am 8 wks postpartum and was playing on the floor with my 18 month old son the day my daughter was born. I was blessed with an excellent pregnancy and delivery. I felt like I never had a baby if it weren’t for the nursing. I began working out when she was 12 days old and found that short time frame did wonders for me mentally. I couldn’t bear the thought to leave my son the entire 10 wks I took off with him but I have realized with my 2nd the importance for some alone time! I’m currently training for a half marathon and find myself taking everything a day at a time. Every new mom needs the “alone” time even if it’s just running to the store! Good luck new mommies!

LK

Seriously, does it matter whether or not she is BF? This article was VERY JUDGEMENTAL. Please get off your high horse. PLEASE.

She ran a marathon, in a good time, just weeks after giving birth. I was afraid to exercise until about 6 weeks post-partum.
Her BF or not makes NO difference.

MathieMom

Wow, now running a marathon at 6 weeks AND nursing the baby, that’s amazing! As a breastfeeding mother myself (17 months with DS and probably at least that long with #2 coming soon), my first thought was that she couldn’t be nursing. Not becuase of the rigors of training, but because a marathon takes hours and that would be hard to do nursing! That must have taken some major schedule adjusting to work in long workouts from the beginning. And quite a bit of luck, because a lot of runners need to switch to walking the last trimester just because of the way they’re carrying the baby.

I was totally ready to judge her for choosing athleticism over breastfeeding. But the fact that she’s successfully managing both makes me say “Way to go!” No need for someone else’s success to make me feel inadequate at all.

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